East to West
by Parodius
Summary: Speedy's choice to leave his team behind, might've been the best idea he's had in while. Choosing how he feels about his new home, and the people in it, that's a another matter entirely. RobinXSpeedy
1. Vanishing Act

Rated: T

_I don't own Teen Titans. _

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated, and if I get enough, I'll continue the story].

**

* * *

Chapter 1: Vanishing Act**

The solid metal door slams shut as Speedy raises his arm to shield off the early morning burst of sunlight from hitting his eyes. Making his way to the edge of the roof, he looks off in the distance at the approaching sunrise just beginning to peek over the Steel City skyline.

Man he loved the mornings. Pastel streaks of the burning star casting their warmth over a dazed city, and the sense of a fresh start were some of things he's always loved about the sunrise. He lowers his arm to take in the full effect.

Scanning the horizon for signs of life, he spots cars racing down the highway off to who knows where, to do who knows what. He could care less. Probably off to spend time with their families, and waste the whole day with them. On their way to some park in the middle of the city, setting up for a whole day affair. A picnic beneath a shady oak tree, blankets nestled beside the pond, couples reminiscing on a secluded bench chattering about their futures—all bleakly pointless.

The archer draws in an effortless breath and slowly releases with an accompanied sigh. Pulling his left elbow above his head, he stretches his muscles with his remaining hand. His bones creak with satisfied sounds as he takes in the last remaining rays of the morning sunrise.

"I'm going to miss this city," Speedy whispers to himself as he exits the roof by the same door he entered minutes ago.

----------------

Making his way into Titan's East's common room, he already regrets leaving the peace and quiet of his rooftop sanctuary. Mas y Menos are fighting over whose turn it is to play on the Gamesation. They race across the open space from one corner to another trying to not let the other have the controller. Aqualad comes in front the north hallway and shakes his head at the scene unfolding. He reaches out both hands as the two speed towards each other, and grabs the twins by their shirt collars; leaving their legs furiously dangling in the air.

"Have you guys forgot that it's mine turn to play today?" Aqualad sighs as he places the two energetic boys back on solid ground and quickly vaults the couch and grabs the controller.

"Hmph!" A mutual agreement from the disappointed twins, as they quickly race out of the common room—and presumably to their rooms.

Speedy, standing by the roof access door, sees the whole thing and makes his way over the fridge in hopes to find edible food. Pushing aside moldy-looking pizza slices, and half eaten containers of Chinese takeout he closes the refrigerator.

"Is there any actual food in this place, or am I just asking for too much?" He sighs to himself.

"There could be…if you bother to buy some once in a while," A woman says in a monotone voice—Bumblebee. "But since you never bother to, you're stuck with you see."

"Since when is that my job?"

Aqualad is so immersed in his game; he has no clue what's going on—let alone the interest to give Speedy a response. Bumblebee just shakes her head and heads off to join Aqualad on the couch. Speedy rubs his temple, trying to prevent an oncoming migraine.

"Fine," He takes that as his queue to leave the scene, and he exits the room.

Since when has be been the one with all the responsibilities around here, since when did everyone else think so too? He didn't care. That was the last straw he needed. Everyone around here doesn't give a damn about him, so why should he? Maybe he didn't deserve to be a part of Titans East; maybe he wasn't that great a hero as he thought. Whatever the case was, he was sure he couldn't stay here for much longer.

----------------

Making his way around the first corner of the hallway he makes it to his room, and opens the automatic switch and lets himself in. Sunlight peeks through the fine slits in the half drawn blinds, and the smell of must and disorder fills the air.

Taking down a small duffle bag from the top shelf of his closet, he sets it down on the bed. Socks, shoes, pants, deodorant—literally anything and everything—made it's way into that bag. He had no clue what he'd need, nor anything that he wouldn't need. A blur of clothing made it past his eyes, as every possible idea in his mind went straight into the luggage.

A knock came from the door, "Speedy?" It was Bumblebee, why was she even at my door?

"Speedy, why are you acting like this?"

He stops mid fold and sets the messy shirt on the bed sheets, "Acting like what?"

"You know what I mean!" Her voice elevated.

The words stopped at his throat, he wanted to say everything he's been feeling for the past month—to say it right to her face. But he couldn't. Instead he turned away from the closed door and began his furious packing.

A heavy sigh is heard from the opposite side of the door, "Roy…"

_Roy? How the hell did she know my real name, I never told anyone that before. Practically everyone I know calls me "Speedy"._

"If there's something bothering you—anything at all, you know we're here for you." She takes a breath. "We may not be the team…hell, family you wanted, but it's the best you got going for you."

Roy—Speedy, stares off at the blank wall above his bed listening to his leader's words. His mind goes into overdrive trying to process what he's listening to, and what his heart is screaming in his chest. Remembering the urge to blink he refocuses his attention towards the window and draws up the remaining half of the window.

His city, this new place he has begun to call home, stared back at him. A city bustling with people, culture—life—he loved everything about it. Was he willing to just leave it all, to pack up and go. Where did he expect to go?

Just then his eyes raced across the now brighten room to his dresser on the far side of the room. They transfixed themselves on something in particular—his Titan's communicator. His mind flashed back to the moment in which he got it, he was with Robin.

Robin. Pictures and memories of their first encounter blurred across his vision. The thoughts drowned out Bumblebee's voice outside, which in turn, began to sound more harsh and hateful. He remembered back when the two of them first met, and how blown away he was by the amount of experience and skill he had, for such a young guy. He was in awe.

Reality set back in, and the world around him came back into focus. Bumblebee's fists pounded against the metal sliding door, "Speedy! Open this door!" Her fists make contact a second time.

Moving towards the dresser, he swipes the black and yellow communicator and slips it into his pocket. Grabbing his bow and arrows off the hook next to it, he slings the pouch of projectiles over his head and onto his left shoulder.

Double-checking his bag again, he brings it over to the window and sets it down. Grabbing a coil of rope from the front pocket, he opens the door and lets the air mix with the stale atmosphere of his room.

Tossing the end out of the window and down alongside the building, he ties the top end to the sill and checks it for tension. With a quick nod, and a grunt of approval he slings both his bow and arrows, and duffle bag over his shoulder and climbs out the window.

"Catch you later, BB" Speedy quips as he salutes his door and rappels himself down his team's headquarters.


	2. Jump City

Rated: T

_I don't own Teen Titans._

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated, and if I get enough, I'll continue the story].

* * *

**Chapter 2: Jump City**

Speedy stood at the base of Titan's West—the true Titan's headquarters, and looked up at the sight before him. Architecturally—it was completely identical to his base back east, save a few minor changes here and there, but somehow it seems grander. It had a certain charm about it, something he couldn't quite describe.

Not like the one from which he left, the evil twin of its preceder. Here lived the heroes that saved countless lives, and made sure the safety of their city always came first. They weren't afraid to sacrifice their own well being to help others, and that's what Speedy loved about them. Their drive.

It'd taken him almost a day and half to fly across the country, and he was exhausted. If only he had superpowers like the rest of the Titans, he could go anywhere he wanted to—in half the time too. Alas, he wasn't like the rest of the Titans because he wasn't blessed with any superhuman abilities. He couldn't fly, move objects with his mind, or shoot energy bolts from his hands—no—all he had was his bow and arrow, which were securely strapped to his back.

Dropping the duffle bag from his right hand grip, it lands on the dirt with a soft "thud". Rubbing his eyes with his newly freed hand, he blinks away the sleep he's kept at bay for days, and reaches towards the door. His hand hesitates right before his fingers makes contact with a lone doorbell on the right side of the metal door.

_What if they turn me away, what if they don't want me to stay with them? Maybe I should just turn around while I'm still ahead and just… No! Then this whole trip across the damn country would be a colossal waste of time._

His hand starts to tremble as it remain inches away from the doorbell.

_Man I should have thought this through._

He swallows and regains his posture. Pushing the doorbell, he reclines his arm back to his side and stands as professional as he can—and waits. Seconds turn into imaginary minutes, and Speedy begins to get restless. Stepping a few more inches closer to the door, he again reaches out his arm and goes to ring the doorbell another time. Just then the sliding front door glides open with the sight of an oversized android in the frame.

Speedy—caught off guard—loses his balance and tumbles backwards on his ass.

"Ow…" He says rubbing his backside and winces behind his mask. "Not cool man, not cool at all."

The android walks forward and stares with a confused look at the stunned archer still huddled up on the ground.

"Speedy, is that you dude?" Reaching out his hand for the young marksman to take a hold of, he pulls him up with great force.

"In the flesh," Wiping off his pants with both hands, he lifts his head to look the Titan in the eyes. "And nice to see you too Cyborg, ya' greet all your guests like this?"

"Well man, maybe if you told us you were stopping by for a visit we could've set something up." Cyborg says to the archer as he rubs the back of his head with his left arm.

"Yeah," He picks up his duffle bag. "A visit."

_Well, that turned out pretty good. Maybe it's for the better that for now they assume I'm just visiting. No need to b_reak the news just yet, what's the harm in that?

"C'mon Speed, I'll bet the rest of the team will just as surprised to see you" He motions inside the tower for Speedy to follow him.

The archer follows Cyborg through the door and closes it behind him.

_----------------_

Sunlight pours in from the curtain less windows and floods the common room with brightness. Cyborg walks in with his unexpected guest and walks toward to the couch where the rest of the team is relaxing save for Robin. On the far end of the sofa, Raven sits with her knees against her thighs, immersed in a book whose title seems to be in another language. She seems unfazed to her friends around her regarding the amount of noise Beast Boy is making over the game he's playing.

"C'mon baby! Almost there, almost!" He yells to no one in particular, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

The virtual car on screen zooms faster and faster down the track, passing car after car. Rounding the last bend he hits a rough patch, and the green car flips off the suspended track and off the screen.

The machine spits out in a monotone voice, "Game Over."

Beast Boy's expression turns from total excitement to shear horror.

"What! That's so not fair!" He exclaims as he throws down his controller on the table in front of him and folds his arms in a huff.

Starfire comes from the kitchen with a tray of blue and red blobs. Floating from team member to team member she offers them the blobs that looks strikingly like cake.

"Friend Beast Boy, would you care to try a Tamaranian favorite?" She smiles in a bubbly voice.

Beast Boy still recovering from his defeat, takes the dessert without realizing, and plops it into his mouth. A moment later he spits it out in disgust.

"Dude!" He sticks out his tongue. "What the hell is that stuff?"

"Glor-frets!" She answers him with added excitement than before.

He rushes off the couch and runs past Raven, directly to the bathroom, and closes the door with a loud "slam". Starfire tries her next target, Raven, with no luck.

"No," She says without lifting her gaze off the foreign text in her book. "I just ate."

Starfire just shrugs and returns to the kitchen to conjure up another dish of who knows what.

Finally thinking it's his turn to jump into the action, Cybrog steps forward and clears his throat with a heavy, "ahem".

Both Raven and Starfire take attention to Cyborg, but only Starfire gasps.

"Ah! Friend Speedy!" She flies over to where he's standing and goes to hug him a little too hard. "It's been so long, has it not?"

His ribs give off a sudden crack as Speedy struggles to breathe out a complete thought. Trying his hardest to push off the very muscular Tamaranian woman, he succeeds and holds her at arms length.

"Yeah it really has been Starfire," Speedy pants as he rubs his abdomen, which has most likely bruised. "How've you been?"

"Oh just glorious!" She exclaims as she twirls her body in the air in joy.

Continuing to speak about her current situation, her words soon turn to white noise, as Speedy's attention is draw to the main door that has just been opened. A masked figure takes up the metal frame of where the door once was, and starts to his trek towards the rest of his team. It's Robin.

"What's all the noise about, who's terrorizing the city now?" The leader says with a half smile while rubbing his eyes that are caked with sleep.

_Robin, it's really you._

With his usual head of spikey hair and black and white mask, he fixes both green gloves over his hands and stops behind Starfire; who is still rambling on.

"Star, why don't you try and find Beast Boy," He says resting his hand on her shoulder, pulling her back down to solid ground. "And I wouldn't suggest trying to apologize with more of the cake either."

Whisking away in a blur of green and elegance, she flies out of the room in search of her emerald companion.

His focus now turns to Speedy, who is still in awe about who's really standing in front of him. Still fidgeting with his gloves, he gives Cybrog a look of "care to explain?"

"Well…" The android begins, but gets cut off.

"Can't a friend visit fellow Titans on a slow crime day?" He blurts out a sentence that is half coated with honesty.

"Technically yes," Robin raises his eyebrows in intrigue. "If that person doesn't live on the other side of the country."

_Shit. C'mon Speedy, think. You know you never think this kind of stuff through, but just this once can you make up some sort of believable excuse._

Robin repositions his feet to alleviate the pressure of standing in such a proper stance. The sunlight streaming in from the window coats the Titan's leader in a warm shade of yellow, reflecting off his mask. His uniform looks surprisingly wrinkle-free, due to the amount of violence he endures on a daily basis.

"Speedy?" Both Cyborg and Robin says almost in unison.

_Anything, any sort of answer would be fine. Dammit, just say that you got lost—wait—lost! How does flying for days and miraculously ending up at Titan's Tower constitute being lost? Ugh…_

"Uh…" Speedy begins to groan out an answer just as the whole room descends in a dark shade of red.

Sirens blare from every section of the room as a woman's electronic voice drones, "Security Breach in Sector V"

All attention in the room is focused on the holoscreen by the front windows, which is display a large exclamation mark on the level just three floors below. Robin turns his head to read the trouble being displayed on the screen and determines that it's none other than—Slade.

_Phew thank you Slade, you don't know how much you just saved me._

Starfire races through the door with Beast Boy tailing her not too far behind, and they quickly meet up with the two other titans.

"Robin, what is it, what's go—" Beast Boy's ranting is interrupted by the sudden introduction of the archer in his vision. "Speedy! What are you doing here?"

"I…well…"

"Beast Boy, there's no time for that," Robin says facing him and explaining the situation. "Right now we have to stop Slade and whatever plan he's thought up now."

Raven puts down her book and quickly joins the rest of the team, and stands next to the archer, giving him a look of confusion and suspicion. With no time for a formal introduction, Robin quickly leads them out of the room and towards the danger. All five members, and Speedy, wind down hallway after hallway with Robin in front.

The entire time Speedy is with them, he can't help but think if this really could be the new place he would call home.


	3. Slade

Rated: T

_I do not own Teen Titans._

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated, and if I get enough, I'll continue the story].

**

* * *

Chapter 3: Slade**

Bolts of green energy whiz by and explode in the darkened room; some merely inches away from where a peon in Slade's army stands. Caught in the blast radius, the metal corpse flips backwards against the back wall in a mess of dangling wires and damaged circuits. Curious onlookers watch their comrade be blown to mechanical pieces, and begin to fire their blasters at the Tamaranian aggressor.

"Starfire!" The masked leader cries out as he races to push his teammate out of the way.

Robin and Starfire tumble onto lone storage crates smashing them in a cloud of wood and dust; but just barely surviving the barrage of blaster fire. Robin takes a glance up from their temporary shelter, to see a cloaked spell-wielding hero fly overhead to face a new wave of robot drones. Chanting magical incantations, the exposed rafters and steel piping rips itself from the walls and ceiling, entangling the enemies. Left immobilized, she turns her focus to her other teammates in need of her attention.

Emerald animals dash from foe to foe, as a shape shifting boy takes the form of various Jurassic dinosaurs to combat the dangerous enemies. In a flash of electrical short-circuiting, two horns pierce the outside armor of several drones, sending them smashing into the wall close by. Satisfied with his success he morphs back in his human-esque form and rushes over to assist Cyborg who's pinned down and surrounded.

Streams of blue and white sonic energy shoot out from all sides of the tightly formed group of assailants, sending each foe shooting towards the ceiling with much force. The androids humanoid fists quickly dealt with the stragglers while quietly thanking his half machine side for the added strength.

Each Titans seem preoccupied with their own battle strategies, and each one could easily defeat the whole army of drones single-handedly. That wasn't the problem. The only hero not currently fighting in the sudden battle was in fact the newest guest—Speedy.

The young archer was nowhere to be found amongst the scrap metal that dotted the room.

Pistol wielding robots each fall victim to the Titan's strategy and overall expertise, with each new pile of circuitry taking up the makeshift battlefield. Battalions after battalion of ruthless androids now occupy the floor—motionless. The air in the battle torn storage room settles down as the constant firing of weaponry and energy dies out. Smoke begins to the clear and a shadowy figure makes himself apparent on the far side of the room.

He calls out to the exhausted Titans, "You seem to have improved since our last encounter, my soldiers don't seem to phase you at all."

Jabbing his staff through the half processing skull of the last functioning android, Robin turns to face the villain.

"You call these things soldiers?" He begins, laughing internally. "Maybe you're just starting to slip up, Slade."

"Perhaps," The masked figure known as Slade quips. "Or maybe it's just the beginning."

Reaching into his pocket, Slade pulls out a cylindrical device encased in black, with his thumb resting patiently on the top red button. A detonator. Panic sets into the veiled eyes of Robin and the rest of the Titans, who start to gather right behind him. Silence fills the room, as the situation escalates ten degrees due to the increased threat just a few feet away in the hands of the enemy. The masked villain rolls the device between each finger, letting the light catch it from the scattered lights situated overhead.

"So Robin, what are you waiting for," Slade instigates, grasping the black device tighter in his hand. "I'm—right—here."

Anger sweeps over the Titan's leader, making his mind race in all sort of directions, with each new idea entering his mind being processed at the speed of light and sound combined. Anxious members wait behind their leader, listening closely for any sort of plan of attack or strategy, but hearing only the stalemate.

"What's the matter Robin, hesitancy really was never your specialty." Slade drones as he quietly chuckles to himself.

Just as hero and villain were about to clash, a singular shot rang out in the semi-dark room with a steel colored arrow sailing through the air. Reaching its target in record time, it pierces the villain's hand rendering it momentarily useless; letting the detonator fall to the floor. Cries of pain bounce off wall after wall as Slade grips his hand that has begun to bleed profusely from the arrow wound.

Taking the opportunity to gain the advantage, Beast Boy changes his body into the agile form of an African cheetah; sprinting from his stationary point. Closing in on the discarded device, his animalistic paws reach out to grasp it, only to be shoved aside by a remaining android soldier. Caught off guard, the cheetah is picked up by the tough robot and sent sliding on it's back into a pile of metallic debris.

"Beast Boy, no!" Raven calls out in distress, sending her powers into a fury.

Sailing towards her temporarily motionless comrade, her eyes glow a shade of black as her fists turn into human projectiles. Sending shards of dark energy towards Best Boy's sight of distress, each shot pierces the robot in a new place, sending sparks cascading over his armor; thereby killing him. The threat is neutralized.

Rushing to the emerald boy's aid, her cape sways behind her as she kneels before him. Overlooking the device that her companion had tried to obtain for his team, she runs past it and rubs her hand over his bruised cheek. Raven whispers words only she could understand, words from the Azarath language in her condolences.

Regaining his focus, Slade's attention if draw to Robin who is already bounding towards him.

"Not so fast Robin," Holding out his palm to cup Robin's approaching fist and leading it down to the floor along with his entire body. "You wouldn't hit a fellow friend when's he down, would you?"

"You're…not a friend…of…mine," Robin sputters as he tries to hold his own against Slade's superior strength.

Just like the exact timing of an alarm clock, and second arrow with a vibrant blue tip shoots out of the shadows and ricochets off a nearby wall; it lands at the feet of the fearsome foe.

"Is that the best your team can do, Robin; fail?" The villain mocks while pressing down on Robin's weak hands sending him to the floor in agony. "Is that all you've taught them, how to not succeed?"

With the careful precision of clockwork working on the side of the archer, the arrow glows a brighter shade of blue than before. Lights streaks proceed to escape from their confinement, and the arrow explodes in a gaseous explosion of blue and winter. Shards and peaks of ice sprouts out from the arrow as they leech off the artificial sub zero temperature and encase the intended target. Chunks of ice crawl their way upward until the villain's entire torso and chest is encased, and not stopping until the entire form is enveloped.

Robin's gaze turns to surprise, as the grip that has forced him into submission is suddenly gone. Now those very muscles are replaced by the firmness and immobility of ice.

Curious Titans cast their own gaze at the victorious sight unfolding before them, holding their happiness until the champion reveals himself to the rest of them. Speedy—alive and in the flesh—strides towards the smiling Titans with his bow in hand; muscles tense; and his gaze stern, filling the role of hero very nicely. His successful attempt in foiling Slade's overall plan had been carried out, and his face was glistening with pride.

Cybrog and Starfire work their way over to where the two—could-be twins—stand side by side gazing at the frozen spectacle before their eyes. The android sends his fist forward and roughly knocks on the exterior of the ice chunk, unable to send even a scratch down it's coating.

"Man, what you got in those arrows Speedy?" He laughs pulling his arm back and messing up their savior's hair. "Remind me never to piss you off on the wrong day."

_Yeah like I'll ever tell you Cyborg._

"Oh," Speedy racks his brain while fixes his hair that has been thoroughly roughed up. "Nothing too special, the same junk that's in Robin's disks give or take a few changes." The bow-carrying hero points to Robin's utility belt full of disks, birdarangs, and other assorted gadgets.

Robin looks down at his belt the same time Speedy does and inspects it with much interest, "Yeah, I'll guess we'll have to talk battle strategy some time."

Lifting his gaze upward, Speedy's vision meets Robin's, and a fiery red sensation rolls over the marksman's cheeks. The intensity in the skilled leader's eyes' is overflowing with passion and experience, making it hard for him to look away. Cursing his body for failing him so, he tries to pull away from the stare he's kept to himself behind him mask.

_Why the hell am I blushing? Maybe it's just a little hot in here, yeah—or just from all the fighting. Yeah…that's it. _

Quickly turning his head away from Robin, he focuses on the rest of Titans who are still gawking at the now frozen statue known as Slade.

"So tell me friend Speedy, how long will he remain…not…moving?" Starfire asks while nudging the makeshift art sculpture.

"I would say," The archer begins while circling it in a slow walk, then finally placing his palm directly on it. "No more than 3 hours, given the room doesn't suddenly become neighbors with a volcano." He laughs internally, still trying to avoid Robin's eyes.

The Tamaranian "oohs" and "ahs" at Speedy's comment, causing her to also circle the object in awe.

"Well, 3 hours or 3 days," Robin begins stepping into the sunlight, letting the beams bounce off his skin in a flash of luminosity. "It's not safe to keep him out here where he could easily escape."

Motioning to Cyborg, "We should take him down to cryo, that way we'll know for sure he won't be thawing anytime soon."

And with that, Cyborg lifted the heavy ice chunk with ease and set him on a hand truck, effectively wheeling him to his own personal storage room.

_Man, Robin really is something. He says something, and they all just nod their heads and do it? Nothing like that would ever happen back home, no way in hell. _

"So, Speedy," Raven sneaks up from behind with her hood over her head effectively blocking out her face from the marksman. "You never did tell us why you're really here."

_Shit man, why does she always have to be so creepy?_

The archer can feel his face and palms increase in temperature, nothing like what he felt before when he looked at Robin. This was completely different.

_Dammit Speedy! Right when you save the day, and you make yourself look like a hero—you always forget to do the most important thing. You never think things through! Crap, crap, crap. _

He releases a heavy sigh, and begins to draw shapes in the floor with his foot out of anxiety. Trying to avoid the conversation altogether, he tries to convince the Titans that they should get some rest; that all this constant fighting is taking it's toll.

Just then, Robin receives a message on his communicator from another Titan. Speedy reads the information before Robin and already tries to sink into the shadows.

"It's Titan's East," Robin says looking the archer square in the eyes.

_Shit._


	4. Confessions

Rated: T

_I do not own Teen Titans._

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated].

**

* * *

Chapter 4: Confessions**

Beads of sweat form on Speedy's increasingly reddening cheeks as they slowly make their way down his face before being wiped away by his damp hands. The sound of rapid heartbeats pound in his ears as every vein pulsates with anxiety.

_Titan's East—oh shit—what do they want with me now? I didn't do anything wrong, not that I know of…all I did was leave. I didn't bother with a note, since I didn't think it would be such a big deal. But it took them this long to figure out I left? Awesome teamwork guys…real good._

The archer thinks to himself while using his paranoid eyes to scan the room for the rest of the Titans, but land on Robin in particular. A young black-haired teen is busy conversing with a lady dressed in black and yellow stripes on his communicator, exchanging glances of confusion and worry between the woman and Speedy.

"Uh huh…yes I see," the spikey-haired leader starts off. "I understand…where is he—right now?"

Robin switches his glance away from the digital screen and over to where the young marksmen is awkwardly standing. His masked eyes giving off a look of "what's the plan Speedy" to the stressed out runaway Titan, the archer lifts up both of his hands and slowly moves them side to side one on top of the other, signaling to end the conversation as quickly as possible.

"Speedy is…uh…he isn't with us at the moment, he's…er…somewhere else in the tower—" Robin's sentence gets prematurely cut off.

"What do you mean he's not with you!" Bumblebee's voice surges from the portable communications device's speakers, loud enough for the entire team to hear. "I want to speak to him right this second dammit!"

Holding the communicator several additional inches away from his ears, Robin winces as the sound of Titan's East's leader's voice gets increasingly louder.

"Robin, you better find Speedy by the end of today," her voice lowering to a loud whisper. "Or so help me, I'll fly over there myself and drag his sorry ass all the way to—"

Raven's purple-tinted hand flips closed the top half of the device in Robin's hand, cutting off the transmission, "I think we've heard enough of her," Robin nods in agreement.

Her gaze turns to Speedy's fumbling arms that are preoccupied with wiping up the last remaining droplets of sweat on his face and regaining his sense of mind. The rest of the Titans including the shape shifter, the android, and the Tamaranian, all look at each other with blank stares. Mutually agreeing almost telepathically, they direct their attention towards the archer who is trying to meld with the shadows.

Paranoia and anxiety remerge themselves in the marksmen's subconscious, forcing him to blurt out, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you! Just stop with all the staring!" he pants.

His eyes dart from Titan to Titan, whose attentions are solely on Speedy. Robin's stare burns an unusually large imprint in his mind as he searches his head for a truthful tale.

The archer sighs.

"I sort of…quit the Titan's East." chuckles escape his half opened mouth.

A lull of silence radiates over the once-was battlefield.

"Quit?" Robin takes the initiative to strike the first counter. "What do you mean by 'quit'?"

"It means that I left them—they're there and I'm here—I'm not a part of their team anymore."

Awkwardness fills the void where understanding fails to lay, heavy and thick; it surrounds the Titans.

"I had no clue someone could actually quit the Titans," this comment was from Beast Boy who was busy scratching his head with a gloved hand. "Can they?" he turns to the rest of the team.

"Technically anyone can," Raven comes from behind Beast Boy, with he hood pulled taught over her head. "If someone did want to leave, we wouldn't really be able to refuse their wish."

_Wow, Raven's more insightful than I'd previously thought._

"Regardless what's possible and what's not, I'd still like to know why you did in fact quit," Robin says while molding his face muscles into a sympathetic stare. "If that's fine by you."

Pacing between where he once stood, and a new place only a few feet away, his mind races. Piecing together every emotion he felt, and every intention he was aware—or not so aware of—they all were fluttering inside his mind.

_C'mon Speed, you 'gotta tell them the truth, they at least deserve that. I know honesty isn't exactly your specialty, but at least give them that._

"I just…" the archer began fidgeting with his pack of arrows strapped to his back. "Just didn't think I belonged there anymore…I needed a change of scenery, other teammates to call my family—I don't really know, I just had to get out."

The archer's eyes were transfixed on Robin the entire time he gave his honest answer, held in encasement by his hope-to-be leader. Even beneath the mask he was sporting, Speedy could feel the intensity that those eyes contained, and he was drawn to it. New feelings were swirling around inside his head, slowly traveling towards his heart, unfamiliar sensations that scared him but hypnotized him nonetheless. His attention came back to reality, as Starfire approaches the marksman.

"But, what will happen to your friends," Starfire shyly said as she took her place in front of Speedy. "Won't they miss you?"

"They have a right to, since I left them in such a rush, but I think I'll find what I'm looking for in this city, with your team," The archer smirks as his eyes race from the gentle face of the Tamaranian to the skillful leader standing just inches away. "If you let me."

Speedy's expression turns into a combination of doubt and certainty, because he was already sure of his decision. Uncertain exactly what his heart was trying to tell him, he knew that Robin was the person, and that being close to him felt right now more than ever.

"How could we possibly say no to someone like you Speedy?" Robin smiles as he walks up to the young teen and places his gloved hand on his shoulder.

The spikey-haired teen holds out a brightly colored communicator and places it in the marksman's open palm, "Welcome to the your new home, Speedy."

His heart pounds with the intensity of a star just gone supernova, as his legs begin to tremble. Uncertain exactly what his heart was trying to tell him, he knew that Robin was the person, and that being close to him felt right now more than ever.

_I think I'll find whatever—or whom—I'll need in this city just, fine._


	5. Part of the Family

Rated: T

_I do not own Teen Titans._

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated].

* * *

**Chapter 5: Part of the Family**

"And this is where you'll be sleeping," the massive human-android hybrid named Cyborg says opening the automatic door.

Looking around Speedy catches glimpses of star painted walls and beautiful landscapes of rocky plateaus. A true planetarium, coated with the constellations of the cosmos, and Speedy gets it all to himself. It's spacious layout enables free roam for the archer, a room built for a king. He looks out of the window at the cityscape that sits below.

_Wow, what a view. I wonder who's room this was before, or better yet, who was crazy enough to not want it…_

In the blink of an eye, Cyborg answers Speedy's speechless thought almost like telepathy.

"Yeah…this room sort of belonged to another Titan a while ago, her name was Terra," Cyborg looks down at his feet while he rubs the back of his neck nervously. "We don't really talk about her all that often around here, it's for the best."

"Fine by me," Speedy agrees releasing a sigh and dropping off his duffle bag on the bed to his right—which is most likely king-sized. "As long as I get to keep the sweet room."

He chuckles, "Yeah this room makes mine look like a dump," looking out at the view that moments ago captivated the archer he quickly regains his thoughts. "Uh…so, dinner's in a few, so…I guess I'll catch ya' downstairs then."

"Sure thing, I just have to unpack and do some other things first," the marksman rambles off as he begins to unzip his bag and riffle through its contents.

The android nods in agreement as he exits the room with a swift escape.

Left in silence, Speedy takes the time to slowly empty out his bag's insides and fill the drawers that line the back wall. Taking his bow and arrow from his back he sets it on the bed below from where he's standing, alleviating the extra weight from his shoulders. Bringing his shoulder down, he smells his uniform and groans.

_Could use a wash, and maybe a shower for me._

Stripping off the top half of his uniform he tosses it to the side of the room, and making his way to the bathroom. The sound of rushing water fills the grand space, which is half the size of the main bedroom. Steam begins to mix with the stale dry air, causing moisture to build on the glass surface covering most of the wall above the sink.

Wiping away some of the excess droplets of water, the mirror squeaks as his cold hands rub across the lukewarm surface. The archer examines his face with much detail, running his fingers under his eyes in particular.

_It looks like I haven't slept in days, which is partially correct…but still, my face doesn't need to scream that to the world._

Turning on the faucet, it quickly comes up to the same temperature of the running shower—Speedy cups his hands. Splashing hot water over his pale complexion, steam caresses the young archer's face making it's way up to the vents above. The steaming water subsides most of the excess sleepiness from under his eyes, but not all of it.

Sensing the water temperature is up to his standards, he opens the glass door letting a great amount of hot air waft into the room. Taking off the remaining garment of his uniform, he tosses that aside and enters the foggy paradise.

----------

"I told you, we've already had tofu three times this week, I'm sick of it!" Cyborg yells at a level so loud he could probably shake the entire tower. "We're having steak tonight anyway."

"Steak!" a green boy yells back, his voice seemingly inferior to the massive android. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Their voices only elevate more as their points of views continue to differ, causing great unrest in the rest of the Titans who are sadly in the same room. Raven sits idly in the corner desperately trying to meditate, while Robin sits on the couch unaware of the unfolding argument. Starfire is nowhere to be found, presumably tending to her own business away from the two Titans at war.

_Well, I guess it's my turn to step in._

"Hey hey guys," the archer interrupts the both putting his hands in between the two instigators. "Why don't we…go out to eat?"

All four members perk up at the sound of those unfamiliar words.

"Out?" Raven whispers opening one eye to scan the room, breaking her focus.

"Yes, out," the archer smirks. "You guys do that…right?"

"Most of the time, yes," Raven continues, ascending from her squatted position. "But most of the time, we can't all decide on a single place."

Beast Boy takes his chance to butt into the conversation, "Well we all decide just fine," he quips swaying his index finger around the room at everyone but Raven. "It's just Raven who votes that we eat at the creepy depressing café down the block."

Dark energy swirls around Raven's hooded figure, emitting waves of shadows in all directions. Her eyes glow bright white as she walks closer to where the emerald boy is quivering.

"I'll show you depressing," she says in an elevated voice, raising her hands above her head. "Azeroth Metrion Zin—"

Speedy's hands quickly wraps around the young girl's mouth, disenabling her ability to utter any more of her chant.

"Not your smartest idea now, is it Raven?" Speedy smiles while holding his balance directly behind the small girl.

She releases a hardly audible sigh from her muzzled mouth.

"So…how about we go for pizza?" the marksman suggest, hoping not to disrupt the balance he's artificially created. "Before someone blows out a window, or breaks down a wall." He looks down at Raven, who is calming down even with his hand pressed against her mouth.

Silence sweeps over the room as eyes from all the Titans—minus Starfire and Raven, who is a little tied up—share with looks with each other. Thoughts roll around in each head like a moth desperately fluttering around a flame, and Speedy senses the hesitation.

His attentions turns to Robin—who has been surprisingly quiet in all the upset. The setting sun slowly falls behind the towering buildings of Jump City, but each ray leaves a lasting impression on his leader's face. Sunlight enhances each pigment of his complexion, replacing his pale skin with radiance. Speedy's masked eyes are held in a mental captivity, unable to look away from Robin. The marksmen's heart flutters with new thoughts entering his mind, ones that involve Robin in a number ways unfamiliar to him.

_What the hell, why am I thinking about him…in this way? There's no chance…that him…and me—no, it's not nasty, just stop._

Snapping his focus off of his leader like the timed explosion of a firework, his sight scans the spacious space, in search of any sort of agreement to his proposal.

_Man these guys are stubborn as hell._

The archer sighs, "Fine…I'll pay."

_Anything to get my mind off of…whatever the hell it is I'm feeling._

----------

Sounds of slamming car doors branch out through the scarcely populated twilight-hour streets. Neon signs hang over streetlights, which hang over building archways, cascading across the street filled with empty parked cars. Each Titan exits the car one by one and stands beneath the high-rise outside dining of the Pizza Corner restaurant.

"Pizza?" Beast Boy questions, "I didn't think you were serious…"

Speedy gives the emerald hero a quick look most likely meaning, "lay off".

"Hey, it was this or let you guys rip each other's heads off," the archer says sternly, hoping no one objects and wants violence.

The shape shifter sighs, "Fine."

"Alright pizza!" Cyborg yells pushing the hesitant Titans aside and barging in through the front glass doors.

Raven releases a sigh, and she draws her dark blue tinted hood over her head and follows after the android.

"Meet you up there then, slow pokes," Beast Boy morphs into a pigeon and flies up the tables that line the outside dining area just a story above them.

With a glow of bright green energy and updraft, the last remaining super powered Titan soars upward towards where Beast Boy flew.

"Don't forget to ask for the balls of meat topping!" the Tamaranian yells as she spirals in the air and flies out of view.

The last remaining members are left side by side in the artificially lit street in front of a lively pizza place. With a sudden outflux of heroic energy, the two fill the empty space with plenty of awkwardness to inflate a hot air balloon.

Speedy drones out a sentence, "So…you think we should join them or what—"

"I'm not really in the mood for pizza, honestly," this voice was from Robin, who was scratching the back of his neck and stretching it at the same time.

He turns to face the other masked teen.

"Do you want go to get burgers instead?"

_Burgers…alone…with you? No one else? Just you…and me? I-I-I…_

Speedy's face began to sport a bright shade of red as his inner thoughts began to emerge on the surface of his skin. The words that he wanted to say hit a snag in his throat and halted their path. He stutters.

"I-I…and y-you want to go g-get…" he tries his hardest to form a complete sentence.

"G-g-go get some burgers?" Robin laughs behind his mask, unaware to the other teen if his vision is directed at him or not. "Unless you want to eat something else…"

Planes soar overhead as their flashing wing lights mix with the abundance of stars, each showing a different shade of excellence. Car horns and city noises collide with each other like a traffic accident, barraging Speedy's ears as his mind works in overdrive.

_Dinner…alone with you Robin? Am I hearing him correctly, or is this all a dream? But…what about the team, we can't just leave them…_

Words and sentences stream out of his throat as the mental blockage is cleared up, sending them into the conversation.

"No no…that's fine by me, hamburgers sound really good right now actually," the marksmen nervously utters, while fiddling with his foot on the concrete below. He looks up towards the pizza place, "But what about the rest of the team?"

Thinking to himself before saying a single word, he finally says, "They'll be too occupied fighting with each other to figure out were not there."

Moving inches closer to where the other masked teen is standing, he places his hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me," Robin says smiling.

_I trust you…don't worry._

Automobiles and pedestrians freeze as the entire city ceases motion. Time halts in the eyes of Speedy, as a single hand applies pressure to his toned shoulder. The hand of his leader, the hand of his friend; or was he more than a friend? The marksman's mind—and heart—has yet to make that conclusion.

Seconds turn into minutes as the world continues on without a single hitch, and the city returns to its former nighttime splendor. Time returns to normal in the archer's eyes, as he stares down his leader.

"C'mon," Speedy's leader motions, "I know this amazing place down on 5th street you'll love."


	6. Uncertainty

Rated: T

_I do not own Teen Titans. _

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated].

* * *

**Chapter 6: Uncertainty**

"Order up!" a seemingly muscular cook says from behind a stainless steel counter. "Two double cheeseburgers with extra cheese, hold the pickles and onions for a Mr…Robin?"

Sudden stillness sweeps over the eating patrons, as a few look up from their dinners and gaze around the restaurant for the named figure.

Looking quizzically at the order slip, then around the packed diner, and back again to the slip—the cook begins to scratch his head in confusion and amazement.

"Right here!" yells Robin—the masked leader of the Teen Titans—as he raises his emerald colored glove in an attempt to the signal the puzzled man.

Making his way through the bustling people crowding the diner's main floor, Robin weaves successfully to the central counter where the food is waiting.

He glances up towards the cook.

"You're…you're…Robin," the man says adding one too many hesitations to his sentence. He rubs his eyes, "Robin's eating at my diner…can't you believe it!"

Robin flashes the—supposed—owner of the diner, and grabs the twin packages of steaming food in both hands.

"A hero's got to eat sometime, don't you agree?" Robin lets out a small chuckle before turning his back to the man.

Leaving the shocked cook to stutter alone to himself, the masked hero weaves a second time through the dually amazed crowd and out the front glass door.

Sitting on the curb underneath a half-lit streetlight, another masked hero waits patiently with a single elbow propped up on his knee—chin resting on his open palm. The sudden chiming of bells as the glass door closes brings Speedy out of his daze.

Dropping one of the bags beside his teammate, Robin takes a seat next to Speedy and begins to rustle through the bag. The illuminated bank sign across the street shows the current weather—which is quite balmy, and the time—which was quite late.

Robin, sensing the sudden vacancy of dialogue between the two, turns to see Speedy in the same position he was not too long ago. He puts down his burger back into the foil, and sets it back on his lap.

"You did say you wanted a cheeseburger…right?" Robin says almost hesitantly, in case of any unexpected out lashings from his partner. "Because…I thought we were on the same—"

"It's fine Robin," the archer says almost autonomously, "it's fine."

"I mean…we can go somewhere else, I just figured you would—" Robin's thoughts get cut off.

"Look! Robin…" Speedy's voice starts off loud, but trickles down to almost a whisper. "There's…there's just a lot on my mind right now, okay?"

Silence.

"Okay?" he repeats.

"Yeah, alright." Robin sighs as he rubs the back of his neck, confused by his teammate.

The sudden outflux of sound catches Robin off guard and he turns back around ninety degrees to face the street filled with stagnant cars. Every now and then the glass doors open to let a mass of people out, all looking very satisfied with their meal.

Something like anger boils up inside of Robin's stomach, enveloping his entire chest with enragement. Feelings of annoyance radiate from his body, as his fists begin to tremble with the intensity of an earthquake. Ascending from the curb, his whole person pivots back around towards Speedy, who has yet to even touch his food.

"Actually, it's not okay," Robins starts off. "What the hell is your problem dude?"

Caught without a chance to respond, Speedy is trapped in the wake of Robin's frustration. The archer's stomach does back flips as he mentally prepares for the fight that seems inevitable. He cringes.

"I mean, you show up at our door for no reason at all, piss off Titans East for who knows what, keep to yourself all secluded like you have something to hide," Robins takes a pause. Pedestrians passing by take an interest in the argument briefly and turn their heads towards the pair.

Robin continues while taking in a deep breath, "mind explaining yourself once and for all?"

_Fuck, why Robin—why the hell must you know this?_

Releasing a long drawn-out sigh, Speedy desperately tries piecing the pieces of his past together in his head, as coherently as he can. He lowers his head and looks down at the sidewalk, bringing his legs closer to his chest has he wraps one arm around his kneecaps.

"I left Steel City because of a lot of reasons, a few of them I know the answer too—and the others…" he pauses while gingerly glancing up away from the ground and towards Robin, "…I'm not so sure about."

"All my life I've wanted some place to call my own, my home, and for a while that place was Titan's East, but…things change." Speedy says rising from the curb and standing no more than five inches away from his leaders face. "Maybe I'll find what I need here, maybe I'll realize what I've been looking for isn't something…but someone."

Robin's glance takes a personality shift, one from concentration to confusion. The streetlight down the block turns from green to red, and the cars come to a halt waiting for their turn to arrive. Robin's gaze stays straight ahead to his teammate while he tries to somehow look deeper into Speedy, and see exactly what he's feeling.

"What do you mean by 'someone', exactly?" the fearless leader cautiously says while the streetlight above begins to flicker on and off, sporadically with no rhythm or pattern.

"I guess…I guess I was just lacking something, something that made me feel whole," the archer begins to say in a low voice while rubbing his forehead, which has beads of sweat pooling. "Bumblebee, and Aqualad, and all of them—they were my family, I felt like I finally belonged. After a while though, I longed for something…to make me feel important again; someone to make me feel alive."

Speedy's cheeks begin to flush over with a light shade of crimson, as his entire body moves closer to the mystified Titan; progressively swallowing the empty space between them with his skin. Taking a few minute steps backwards away from the rambling archer, Robin's hands feel the rough sensation of masonry as he sidles up the wall of the diner.

"Speedy…" the seemingly helpless leader says as his body arches against the wall, his mind racing with hundreds of different thoughts.

The marksman's body gliding closer to Robin, making the air between them heat up with the intensity of both their beating hearts.

"I don't understand…I-I…who…" stutters Robin as the words fall out of his mouth and land on the cold concrete below his boots. "Who do you need you…"

"Robin…it's…it's you," the words dangle in the stale air, drifting through the wind; floating away towards a brighter sunset.

The archer's entire body is mere centimeters away from his trembling leader, and Speedy's breath caresses his every muscle. His toned arms raise themselves towards his shoulders as his hands cup around his chin and neck. The tips of his fingers digging slightly in his skin, leaving marks in their wake. His gaze shifts from his surroundings, to the person in his mindset—Robin.

Lips make contact with shivering lips, and a surge of passion and excitement washes over Speedy. His mind exploding with the thoughts of his subconscious, his innermost dreams, his secret interests—now come to life on the lips of his leader. Hesitation sweeps over Robin has his tense muscles are caught in suspension, whether or not to give in to the submission Speedy is forcing upon them.

"Speedy…wait…w-what…" Robin's mouth tries to utter has his whole body twitches with the sudden introduction of the archer's tongue into his mouth. Moans escape from the corners of his mouth, as pleasure sweeps over the last remaining nervous sections of his body. Exploring within his leader's mouth, Speedy's mind runs on overdrive as new feelings emerge from within his mind—ones he's been wanting to try and explain.

Beeping interrupts the serenity and passion of their embrace, the beeping of Robin's communicator—the red "T" blinking furiously.

"It's…the other Titans…we h-have to tell—" Robin pants, trying to speak from underneath Speedy's lips.

Reaching down around the boy's waist, his fingers make contact with the batteries on the back—successfully dislodging them and making them fall to the earth. The beeping ceases its incessant interruption.

Breaking the embrace between their lips, the marksman replies. "Don't worry about them right now, it's just us, you—and me."

Hands begin venturing around Robin's waist and underneath the fabric of his tunic, feeling the warm sensations of his skin on Speedy's strong hands. Moans and gasps escape as those same hands runs down his back and under the waistline of his boxers, teasing the already exhausted teen.

Passion-drenched lips meet again as Robin's impatient urges take over, and force their will upon Speedy, much to the latter's surprise. The streetlight above flickers its last glow, as something in the bulb snaps—ceasing the light and inviting the darkness. Inviting the unknown to swallow them both.


	7. Hurt

Rated: M [due to impending acts of sex and language]

_I do not own Teen Titans_

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated].

**

* * *

Chapter 7: Hurt**

Hanging above the city center, the partially full moon casts an eerie silver luminescence over the underlying pavement. Early morning sunrays meet the moon over the horizon of the skyline, and a mix of blues and reds collide together. The scene is covered with a of blanket silence, only the occasional pigeon breaks the quietness.

Sitting on the curb no more than a foot apart from one another, two masked heroes sit quietly pondering to themselves.

"So…" Speedy, the seemingly braver Titan breaks the awkwardness, "about last night…"

His sentence trails off into nothingness, as a response from his partner is nowhere in sight.

Speedy tries again, "I mean…it happened right? I wasn't imagining things…" he pauses, "was I?"

At first Speedy just looks at Robin, unsure of what either's next move is, but eventually his head falls down to his chest. The archer's forehead begins to produce beads of sweat, and he moves his right-gloved hand to remove the moisture.

Rising from his seated position, Robin turns around and walks away from the confused teen, much to the latter's surprise.

"Where are you…" Speedy tries saying, only to find his partner half way into the convenience store behind him.

No more than three minutes later, the masked leader comes out of the store carrying two cups of coffee in each hand. Making his way behind his partner, he hands the seemingly smaller cup to Speedy while keeping the larger one for himself.

"Figured you might need…need something to wake you up," Robin says in a monotone voice while standing as nonchalant as possible.

Taking a sip from his coffee, Robin continues. "In a little bit we should call the other Titans, reassure them that we're not dead or anything…"

Robin takes another gulp, leaving Speedy in second place as his drink sits untouched next to him.

"I guess they have a reason to be concerned, we did sort of disappear last night…hah," Speedy's leader continues to say to himself more than his partner, "and then not answering their call, yeah, I'll bet they're real—"

"Shut up."

Choking on the caffinated liquid, Robin wipes his bottom lip.

"Excuse you?" Robin says directly at Speedy.

"Shut. Up," Speedy's voice elevates as he meets Robin's masked face with his own, forcing the space between them to close rapidly. "How can you just…make it seem like nothing happened, how can you just keep ignoring it like it was all a dream."

"I-I'm not…Speedy it's just—"

"Why are you acting like such a kid about this, we kissed Robin—we kissed! It was something that happened, and last I checked, you just went along with it…" Speedy continues to rant over the timid voice of Robin, who stands as feeble as possible.

Silence sets back into the scene as the archer's rage-filled speech comes to a close and the early morning bystanders begin to clear out, relieving the already built-up pressure.

Speedy moves closer towards Robin, "So…what is it—what's with you?"

"I don't know!" Robin exclaims while backing away from the archer.

The marksman's face drains of all anger, and is replaced by something resembling sympathy.

"Robin…I didn't mean to push you so hard—it's just, I thought it was…" he practically whispers while trailing off.

"Thought I didn't care?" his leader says with more confidence, this time directed at Speedy solely.

Shades of red appear on Speedy's cheeks as he borrows his head further in his chest, trying to hide from his midnight fantasy. Robin, taking the initiative, places his hand underneath the embarrassed archer's chin and lifts his head to meet his eyes.

"Look," Robin says as sweetly has a fearless hero can while maintaining eye contact.

Speedy starts to look down at his feet, trying to avoid whatever it is his leader wants to say to him.

"Hey…hey—look at me," he repeats while raising his chin up with more strength this time and managing to his team member in check, "I might not now how I feel about you at this very moment, but what I do know, is that what I'm feeling isn't something I should throw away; it's something I should give a chance."

Moving his emerald colored glove to the back of Speedy's neck, Robin leans in closer and his lips meet his partner's in a surge of craze and uncertainty. The artificial world around them collapses, and for a few minutes, it's just the seemingly natural world of the two heroes surrounding them.

"Mm…Robin…" Moans escape from the archer's mouth as surges of pleasure run through his every vein.

Breaking the kiss a little too soon than Speedy had hoped, Robin backs his head away from the red-faced teen and gleams a smile towards him.

"If I hadn't known better, I'd say you're feeling the same way about me…" Robin quirks as his smile lengthens, stretching from ear to ear.

The marksman punches Robin in the shoulder playfully hinted slightly with something like frustration, "shut up."

Ruby red shades of red appear on Robin's belt, illuminating the "T" conveniently placed on the wrong on his communicator.

"You put it back together?" Speedy says with a luminous smile.

The archer's leader only blushes. Unlatching the device from his belt, he flips it open to reveal Cyborg's bulking physique taking up the entire screen.

_Better late than never I guess…_

"Yo!" Cyborg's voice radiates from the device, "Where the hell have you guys been?"

Before Robin could even utter a word of his response, Starfire bumps the android out of the way and starts rambling endless questions with jade-filled eyes.

"Have you been captured, where are you right now, who is behind this, I will destroy anyone holding you hostage!" the Tamaranian says as her eyes intensify in color and the sound of ripping upholstery emits from the background.

"Star—Star, we're fine…we just had a little change of plans last night," Robin says almost above a whisper as he steals a glance at his late-night lover. "Sorry we never answered you back last night, we were a little tied up downtown…"

_Not going to tell them __**why**__ we're downtown, __**why **__we missed dinner—are you Robin?_

Cyborg re-enters the window, and starts talking like he's rehearsed his speech, "well, that's all good and dandy but we have our own little 'change of plans'—Slade's back."

The sound of his name sends a shiver of surprise and shear anger through the spine of Robin, who shudders with the thought of his enemy. His eyes refocus, and behind his mask, they're fuming with the intensity of fire.

"Where is he." The Titan's leader says with no emotions at all.

"South Seaport—Pier 14," Cyborg responds.

Robin slams closed the communicator before Cyborg has a chance to lay out the rest of their attack plan, and sets off down the street. The morning sun is high above the tallest building in the city center, and the heat is already radiating off the windowpanes above.

"Robin!" a lone voice, the concerned voice of Speedy bounces off the storefronts making it to his leader.

_Man, what the fuck is up with him…it's like he's a different person every other minute._

Sprinting down the sidewalk to catch up with Robin's increasingly speedy pace, the marksman put a sole hand on his shoulder in an attempt to halt his footsteps.

"Robin…" Speedy pleads, "talk to me."

Half-heartily shrugging off Speedy's hand, Robin turns a full 180 degrees to face his concerned partner. Meeting mask to mask, the two Titans share a moment of intimacy as the more timid hero shows a face of understanding, while the former's face stays as placid as the Arctic sea; unchanging. Sun rays mix with the milky complexion of the marksman's leader, emitting a plethora of excellence.

"Man…you look really cute right—" Speedy pants placing a hand on the right cheek of Robin.

Swatting the hand away like a viral infection, Robin's expression is soaked with anger.

"Speedy, Slade is out, terrorizing the city—and you want to sit her playing 'faggy boy?'"

_Faggy boy…?_

"If you really want to make me happy, help me stop Slade—other than that, it's just wasted effort."

Caught completely off guard, Speedy's mouth hangs open as his leader turns back around and walks off into a back alley towards the Seaport. With his hand halfway extended into a void of nothing, Speedy retracts his gloves hand back to his side, and stares off into the rising sun. Moisture pools at the corners of his masked eyes, but Speedy doesn't make a move to wipe them away.

_Robin…I thought…I-I…

* * *

_

**A/N:**

Sorry about the lack of updates recently, I've been sort of on the lazy side this past week. Spring break and all, it'll do that to someone.

I'll have a new chapter up before the end of the weekend, I promise. If I don't…feel free to come to my house and riot; my schedule's surprisingly free the rest of the week.


	8. Slade Returns

Rated: M

_I do not own Teen Titans._

[Comments and reviews are highly appreciated].

**

* * *

Chapter 8: Slade Returns**

"On your left, they're coming from the rooftops!" Cyborg yells while aiming his mechanical sonic cannon at the abandoned warehouse's roof. Several drones get caught in the blast and pieces of sweltering metal fly off into the docks below. The few that did survive cling to the damaged roofing desperately trying to pull themselves up.

Dozens more appear in the blown out glass windows lining the warehouses that run down the pier, each taking a position above the cramped docks. Round after round of blaster fire rain down on the unsuspecting Titans below who are fighting for their survival against Slade's bulking bipedal behemoths. Raven, thinking fast, summons a bubble of dark energy to surround the already exhausted Titans, saving them from the explosions of gunfire. Changing into the form of a rhino, Beast Boy tramples through several drones clearing out a section of the docks.

"Star, take out those drones above us—you too Raven!" says the android taking the position of leader, since Robin, is nowhere to found amongst the sea of bodies.

In a flash of emerald and night, the two heroines take flight and fly off towards the windows above them, now even more crowded with anger-filled foes. Dodging the streams of yellow energy flying towards them, they avoid the danger in synchrony, as they soar towards the building. Chanting her magical words of empowerment, Raven's eyes glow the color of darkness as entire windows shatter and glass shards fly towards her enemies, slicing through their circuitry. Lifeless corpses tumble to the ground as new ones stumble to take their place. Bolts of pure green energy speed from the Tamaranian's fists and collide with the concrete and steelwork of the warehouse, leaving explosions in their wake.

"Starfire, watch out!" Raven shrieks while turning around to see a lone drone leap out of the shattered window and latch onto the airborne heroine.

Due to the added weight of the heavy robot, Starfire quickly drops twenty feet and slams through the wooden slabs of docking. Sounds of splashing and bay water erupt from the gaping hole in the dock, as the faint glow of green submerges beneath the surface.

Seconds later, emerging like the speed of light, another identical flash of jade fills the bright sky as Starfire struggle to unlatch herself from her bloodthirsty foe. Struck with a lone battarang in the skull, the creature's grip loosens and Starfire is able to send it flying with a quick starbolt. Turning her attention to the smoke-filled battlefield below, she catches a glimpse of a masked hero, the leader of Titans West crouching as he unsheathes his battle staff.

"Robin!" she says flying towards him and hugging him quickly before a blast of heat and debris goes off no more than two feet from where they're standing.

"Titans! Regroup" says Robin as another explosion goes off behind him forcing the leader to vault a shipment of packing crates to wait for the rest of his worn out team.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire quickly follow after Robin and crouch behind the boxes for protection, while Cyborg walks backwards firing his weapon on a crowd of attacking androids. He crouches behind the crates after the front lines have been destroyed.

"It's nice of you to finally show up…" Raven says casually even through the blaster fire zooming overhead.

Robin's face says placid as he waves off the harsh statement.

"Where is teammate Speedy?" Starfire says before standing up to hurl a huge star bolt at an oncoming force of robots. She hunches back down, "did something happen?"

"He…he'll be here soon," Robin says before turning back to the current Titan-in-command, "Cyborg, what's the situation here?"

"It's Slade, he's behind the attack, but the strange thing is…" he pauses. "he's nowhere to be found."

"So why here, why strike at the Seaport?" Robin asks trying to piece together the missing links in his head. "What is there to gain here?"

Before anyone has a chance to respond to his statement, Robin answers himself, "no matter, we have to stop him—whatever it takes."

"Then we're on the same page," Raven states joining the strategy talk again.

Shrapnel and rubble fly over the boxes as laser fire shoot out from in front of their makeshift fortress, which causes Raven to summon a long stream of dark energy sprawling across the wood and entangling the towering robot—smashing it to pieces.

"That's it," the Titan's leader says to himself, "Titans! Go!" he says to his entire team as he vaults back over the crates and sprints towards endless lines of Slade's army. Jabbing his battle staff through several drones at once, he quickly pulls it in reverse and watches as they burn into flames and smolder.

Successfully fighting off an entire squad of androids, Beast Boy morphs back into human form and surveys the battlefield. No more than five seconds later, two tank-like robots come behind the emerald hero and pin his arms to his back—disabling his ability to change. "Raven, help!" Beast Boy tries screaming as he struggles to wriggle loose.

Lifting up a whole forklift, she hurls it at the towering machine, forcing it to implode in an array of wood fibers and wires.

"Robin! There's just," Raven grunts smashing yet another battledroid against the concrete, "there's too many of them!"

Pondering this for mere seconds, he turns to Cyborg and flashes him a look, one that makes Cyborg nod in agreement. He pulls back towards the group, and continues his ranged assault. Pulling off a bomb-like device with a center button, off his utility belt, Robin turns to the spell caster, "when I say it, make a barrier around us, got it?"

She nods in accord, taking a ready stance, hands glowing—her stare straight.

Studying the battlefield, there are still countless amount of robots taking up the field, ready to pounce from broken windows, and swarm the Titans. With a quick upward thrust, Robin quickly presses the button on the device and hucks it directly above him.

"Now!" he yells to Raven who's eyes glow the shade of shadows, and a swirl of energy surrounds the Titans. The blinking yellow button turns stable, and a flash of light and heat spawns from the bomb. Through the hazy view of their sanctuary, the world around them turns into a swirling maelstrom of fire and destruction. Scrap metal, stray planks, and the bodies of hundreds spin around mixing with the searing hot flames.

Dropping the shield, the team takes in a breath before taking the entire scene in. Slade's army is gone—demolished—entire warehouse roofs and complexes are left in ruins, and many smashed androids are floating on the harbor surface. For the moment, the team is left alone with only each other to offer any sounds.

"We did it?" Beast Boy says to himself more so than anyone else, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Or so it seems…" says a lone voice on the other end of the pier, the voice that's haunted the Titan's for quite some time.

Turning in unison towards the familiar voice, all but one hero takes the initiative to talk to the villain.

"Slade…" he starts out, "Why are you here, why now, why—"

"Why?" Slade begins to say, coming out of the shadows of the broken façade and into the daylight, "'why', my dear Robin, is something you'll never know. But what you will know, is what happens to the people you hold close to you, when you neglect them. That, I believe, is something you'll soon learn to know firsthand."

The masked hero's face turns into something resembling fear, as it washes over his entire body—making his thought jumble around inside his skull.

"Speedy…" he thinks to himself.

His head hurts. It hurts to even think, to think through these thoughts that barrage his brain—these images he doesn't want to see. Previous thoughts of today sprawl into his subconscious, the things he said, the things he did—all come crashing back to him.

"Where…where is he…" Robins says slowly, trying to make his voice sound as clear as possible.

"What was that, Robin, I couldn't quite hear you," Slade flatly says while putting his hand up where his ear is located.

"Where. Is. He!" he screams back towards the villain, who seems unmoved by the sudden elevation of Robin's voice.

"Now Robin, where would the fun be in that…" Slade says as he slips ever so covertly back into the shadows.

Enraged with fury and weighed down by guilt, Robin's head swirls with horrible thoughts about the whereabouts of his partner.

"R-Robin…are you of the 'okay' feeling?" Starfire says, placing a hand on his shoulder—just as Speedy did no more than a few hours ago.

Flashbacks crowd his vision, as Speedy is the only thing his eyes can focus on.

"I'm fine, we have to find him," Robin says looking her straight in her gentle green eyes. "Now."


	9. Cancellation

**A/N:** …so… First off, let me thank anyone and everyone for taking the time to read, re-read, look over, review, love, hate, and do whatever else to this story you deemed necessary—it's appreciated ten times over. Without you guys, I wouldn't have had the balls to publish any more stories. With your help you got me on my feet and assured my confidence in this website, you readers, and it's community. Thank you.

On that note, I am sorry for leaving the story and dangling it off a very steep cliff so many months on end. I planned to finish the story quickly and easily…but it soon got the fifth, sixth, and eighth chapter and my willpower was fading faster than I could pump out a new chapter. School was right around the corner and my third year was more…stressful than I'd previously anticipated. So it took the back burner. I had plans to restart it, but the loads of assignments and papers quickly extinguished them. **But for the record, I will not be updating this story. I will keep it up on my profile, as examples of my work, but no new material will be added whatsoever. **

I have nothing against the pairing, story, or genre. Teen Titans is and always will be my childhood nostalgic memory, alongside all the wonderful characters I grew up with. This isn't also against you readers, since you have been more than gracious to my writing and everything I've worked on. Again, thank you so much for your time and energy.

…I hope we can still be friends. : 3


End file.
